Founders Brewing Co. “Canadian Breakfast Stout”

The Pitch:

Canadian Breakfast Stout is an Imperial Stout brewed with a blend of coffees and imported chocolates, then aged in spent bourbon barrels that have most recently been aging pure Michigan maple syrup.

http://www.foundersbrewing.com/blog/beer/canadian-breakfast-stout-taproom-release-information-announced

Stats:

ALCOHOL: 10.6% alcohol, by volume

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1199/47658

Founders Brewing Co. "Canadian Breakfast Stout"

The Skinny:

To score one of these beauties for under a hundred bills in the Carolinas is equivalent to winning the powerball!  Well maybe not quit that extreme, but pretty close.  To say these bad boys flew off the shelves is an understatement. At the time this bottle was consumed the going rate on fleabay was about buck twenty.  A beer worth a hundred and twenty? Most defiantly!  The aroma was that of your favorite cup of coffee with a dash of chocolate maple.  The nose of alcohol was notable at the onset.  The taste, amazing!  The coffee was the first to make it’s appearance, followed in the middle with the chocolaty goodness and tied up with an amazing ribbon of maple glazed bourbon.  With an ABV of over 10% it most certainly showed up on the palate as well.  Not overwhelming, but it was most there.  As far as other imperial stouts go, Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout is shoulders above the rest.  If you can find one, drink it!  The CBS is the first to be given four out of four knuckles.

 

The life in Sweden

Up here in the north it becomes darker colder day by day. The first snow usually come in a few weeks and the fishing season to an end. But when the season is over so begins another. The flytying season. Since I love to tie flies, I have already started the season.

Here are some of the flies I tied recently.

Damsel

 

Czechnymph - pink

 

Czechnymph - brown

But I have not only tying flies. I’ve had little time for pike fishing. Have had a really lousy pike fishing recently and caught no big pike this time. But they are out there in the lake.

Small pike

Have a nice day wherever you are.

 

 

 

 

You, the Fan Decides the Next Prize Pack!

MooseKnuckle Lanyards will be partnering with J.B. McCollum to bring you a very special prize pack just in time for Christmas!  Who is J.B. McCollum you ask?

J.B. taking a break from a hard at the office on Henry's Fork in Island Park, ID

I am from New Jersey and photography and the outdoors is a true passion of mine. In the warmer side of the year one can often find me walking small shady rivers stalking the illusive east coast brook trout, come the winter I trade in fly-rod for shotgun and roam the rolling hills of New Jersey with my bird dogs. I have a passion to wander and travel and in due time I will see much more of the world, in due time you too will see more of the world as I see it through my eye. I have not quite figured out how I will see the world but I can assure you I will.

Tight Lines,
J.B. McCollum

In short J.B. is a fly bum who just happens to be a very talented photographer. Lucky for you J.B. has offered an 11 x 14 window mat signed and numbered as a part of our Christmas Giveaway prize pack.  The hard part is you have to decide which print you would like to see in the prize pack.  Below you will see ten images and a poll to vote on your favorite.  Voting will end on December 1st.

Image #1

Image #2

Image #3

Image #4

Image #5

Image #6

Image #7

Image #8

Image #9

Image #10

Be sure to check out J.B.’s work over at My Eye Photography and on Facebook.  Thank you for your vote and good luck!

 

Universal Tippet Caddy ™ Revealed!

Overnight directly from the manufacturer!

 

Dispatches from wherever: Travelin’

Give 'er...

So you want to be a traveling angler?

There’s quite a few different paths one can take to reach this goal:

1. Become really, really good at fly fishing;
2. Inherit the family carpet business, sell it, and become really good at fly fishing;
3. Become a commercial airline pilot and become really good at fly fishing;
4. Become really good at both fly fishing and photography;
5. Become really good at writing about fly fishing;
6. Have a trust fund or win the lottery or have a large inheritance;
7. Marry rich;
8. Become a geologist;
9. Work hard, live simply, save money, research your butt off, and just do it!

If you didn’t know already, I do a combination of #8 & #9. I don’t really recommend #8 to many people, however, so I’ll dish out a few tips for #9.

1. Quit making excuses & sacrifice a little.

How does this tie into traveling? Well, count how many times you have said, or heard someone else say, “I don’t have any time to do that” or “I wish I could afford that.” Funny thing is, with a bit of sacrifice, many people could have the time or money to travel & fish.

How much TV do you watch in a week? Knock a few hours from that to get caught up on nagging chores or assignments. Or research potential travel deals online. Or start a side-gig to make a few extra bucks.

Speaking of TV, do you have cable? Get rid of that money-pit. Our cable bill was over $80/month. Times that by 12 months = $960/year. That’s real cash right there.

There’s lots of other ways to save some cash: cut down on takeout; grow your own veggies; walk, ride a bike or take public transit. It all adds up. Google is your friend on this.

My little life motto is this: Live Simply. Fish Hard. Have Fun. It’s amazing what you can do with that.

2. The internet is your friend.

Sense a recurring theme? The internet is truly your friend when it comes to finding travel deals.

Bookmark Kayak, Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz and the like. Also check out the websites for the airlines themselves. Check frequently.

(Side note: I’m from Canada, where we essentially have a monopoly on air travel: Air Canada. If you book a ticket with them, they immediately send Bruno & Gino to your house to grab you by the ankles and shake you upside down until ALL of your money falls out. You fine Americanos have Southwest Airlines, which permits you to fly anywhere through the USA for approximately $7, from what I can tell. So suck it up a little bit. I kid, I kid…sort of…)

Ok…got that part? Now it’s time to dive a little deeper into this whole internet thing…ready?

There is a not-so-secret internet society called Travel Hacking. Start there.

To put it into real numbers, in less than 12 months, doing a really half-ass job as a travel hacker, I’ve managed to hoard up over 100,000 frequent flyer miles. That total doesn’t include what I collected flying; add those miles, it’s up to 140K.

There are some folks that get five or ten times that amount in the span of a year.

Alright, I’m not going to hold everyone’s hand through this. Turn off the TV and hit the inter-tubes.

Besides, I’ve said too much already; I’m expecting Bruno & Gino to arrive any minute…

3. Pack smart.

So you’re all booked & ready to go now? Here’s a few quick packing tips:

• Pack light. Figure out the climate/weather & go from there.
• Carry on your rods & reels. I use this (it’s in the pic at the top). It’s carry-on approved, and fits in overhead compartments on every plane I’ve flown on (that’s quite a few, btw…)
• Pack light. Seriously.
• Check your flies, forceps, pliers, multi-tools, etc. in check baggage. Or you’ll lose it forever.
• Pack light. I’m not kidding you. Some people use the “take half your stuff & double the money” rule, but we’re trying to keep this on a budget, right?
• Use the internet. Remember? It is your friend.
• Pack a Mooseknuckle Lanyard (sorry, had to  )

4. Keep your wits, an open mind & a positive attitude.

Trust me, s**t happens. All the time.

It could be minor, like a slight delay on a layover.

It could be moderate, like having an officer of the National Security Force of Burkina Faso pocket your passport & hand you a signed slip of paper with a dollar amount, in CIFA’s, written on it, and not having your passport in a weird & exotic place for four days, until he is paid & returns it.

It could be major, like a hurricane hitting your destination.

All you can do is keep your smarts about you, figure s**t out, and move on.

Because, trust me, those are the parts of the story you’ll tell, laugh about, and remember forever.

********

These are just a few tips & pointers to get you thinking about hitting the road (or air). I could write a 500-page book on this stuff, so this is very much the very top of the tip of the iceberg. So do your own research. And have fun.

Happy trails.

 

TommyKnocker Brewery “Maple Nut Brown Ale”

The Pitch:

A delicate amount of maple syrup is added to each barrel of our award winning Maple Nut Brown Ale to impart roasted sweetness. This addition balances the nut flavor produced by chocolate malts used in the brewhouse, producing a drinkable dark amber ale with a relatively low alcohol content.

1996 Great American Beer Festival Bronze Medal. 1999 NABA Silver Medal. 2000 World Beer Cup Gold Medal. 2002 GABF Bronze Medal. 2002 NABA Silver Medal. 2003 GABF Bronze Medal. 2006 GABF Bronze Medal.

http://tommyknocker.com/our-beers/maple-nut-brown-ale

Stats:

MALTS: 2-row, Munich, 75 Crystal, 150 Crystal, Cara-pils, Chocolate

HOPS: Perle, Willamette

ALCOHOL: 4.5% alcohol, by volume

IBU’s: 20

http://tommyknocker.com/our-beers/maple-nut-brown-ale

TommyKnocker Brewery "Maple Nut Brown Ale"

The Skinny:

TommyKnocker “Maple Nut Brown Ale” starts out a little on the watery side, but in the end the sweet maple, nutty flavor pulls through to finish this one off very nicely!  The real maple syrup makes this beer sweet and the hint off hops may not be enough to kill the sweetness enough for some to enjoy.  The chocolatey coffee malt notes with perfect carbonation adds to an all around pleasurable experience.  The Maple Nut Brown Ale gets a sweet 3 out of 4 Knuckles.

 

Bloggers Only Giveaway!

Considering all the coverage we have received from some top notch bloggers I have decided it is time to pay the love forward.

Who: Bloggers

How: Simply post a link to a blog post you authored concerning any one of our products in the comments below.  Winner will be drawn at random.

What: Universal Tippet Caddy ™, win it before you can buy it!

When: Entries must be received before midnight December 1, 2011.  For those who have not had a chance to post anything concerning MooseKnuckle Lanyards products yet you have plenty of time to put something together.  I have sent out quit a few lanyards to bloggers already, but if you were not one of those who received one please contact me and we will work on getting you one for a nominal fee.

Competition

Look forward to reading the entries… happy blogging!

 

What do you have on your fishing lanyard?

After a short period of paying particular attention to the equipment or tools that people put on their lanyards it does not take long to realize that lanyards and the tools they carry are as unique as the user.  We all have our favorite piece of equipment and tools we will never dare enter the water without.  While a few seem to carry the kitchen sink on their lanyards.  I would consider my lanyard to be simple, with the exception of one luxury item.  My lanyard carries a pair of Able Nippers, Orvis Forceps with scissors, a Ty-Rite, and our Universal Tippet Caddy ™.

My simple, yet effective Stainless Steel Lanyard.

The Abel Nippers were a gift from the wife, hands down the best nippers I have used thus far.  They make quick work of anything up to 100lb braided line.  I accidentally purchased the Orvis Forceps with scissors while looking for forceps with a split shot jaw, really had no use for the scissors at the time.  But since then, the scissor portion has been used far more often than the split shot jaws.  I use the scissors to trim everything from line to indicators and flies.  Of course the Universal Tippet Caddy ™ is a must, between breaking off on snags and changing flies I reach for tippet more frequently than the forceps.  Last but not least, my Ty-Rite.  Yeah I know what your thinking, but honestly it saves me more time on the water than you can imagine.  Since most of my fishing is done dead of winter, frozen numb fingers makes it a challenge to tie size 20 and smaller midges.  Now that you have an idea about what I have on my lanyard lets take a look at a few others.

Pro-Staff member Dave Hise with his Carbon Fiber Lanyard

As you can see from the picture above pro-staff member Dave Hise carries the basics of nippers, nail knot tool, forceps (not pictured), and our Universal Tippet Caddy ™.  The most notable difference in Dave’s configuration is the addition of magnetic tool releases. As basic as this seems Ryan Dunne takes the cake on simplicity.

Pro-Staff member Ryan Dunne with the most basic of Stainless Steel Lanyards.

Pro-Staff member Ryan Dunne practices the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) theory with his lanyard.  Ryan merely carries our Universal Tippet Caddy ™, nippers, and floatant while fishing from a boat.  On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, Nick Garlock puts his Stainless Steel Lanyard to work!

Pro-Staff Member Nick Garlock's fully loaded Stainless Steel Lanyard.

Recall that I said some people carry the kitchen sink on their lanyards, if you look closely at the picture above you can actually see the kitchen sink on Pro-Staff Member Nick Garlock’s Stainless Steel Lanyard.  From what I can tell it appears that Nick carries a couple bottles of floatant, a fly dryer / leader straightener, nippers, a nail knot tool, Kethcum Release, and of course our Universal Tippet Caddy ™ even while in a boat.  Pictured below are examples of what Pro-Staff Member Derek Young and John Dollar carry on their MooseKnuckle Lanyards.

Pro-Staff member Derek Young with a nice Cutthroat while using just the basics on his Stainless Steel Lanyard.

John Dollars' prototype MooseKnuckle Lanyard during field testing.

As the title indicates, what do you have on your fly fishing lanyard?  By simply subscribing to our blog, liking our Facebook page or following us on Twitter, and posting a comment below that answers the question, “What do or would you have on your fishing lanyard?” you will be entered in a random drawing for the very first giveaway of a MooseKnuckle Lanyards Universal Tippet Caddy ™ to be held December 1st.  (Only those who complete all three requirements will be be eligible to win.  Be sure to include either your Facebook or Twitter name in your post)

 

A short report from Sweden

It took some time for me to write my first post here. But now it’s done. I live in Sweden so if my English is a bit funny sometimes so you have the explanation there. But I hope you understand the most of what i write.

I run my own blog that is written in Swedish and in which I write about my everyday life, fishing and fly tying. Have blogged a number of years but it is only this year that I really found my place after trying a variety of services. If you want to peek at my Swedish blog has the following address, www.tidansflugfiske.se

Autumn has come to Sweden and pike fishing is the primary fishing in my area so I offer a picture of one of my favorite flies

 

Sheepfleece Pikefly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have a nice day wherever you are

 

Dispatches from…wherever..: Red State (of mind)

The bow of a flats skiff, that's the place for me

This was a difficult post to title.

Usually, they’re Dispatches from Canada. For the past few weeks, I’ve been in Idaho. And this post is about Louisiana.

Like most people, I blame BP. But for different reasons.

If it weren’t for the extensive coverage of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, there’s a strong possibility that I would never have gone to Louisiana. Throughout the summer & fall of 2010, every major fly fishing magazine and numerous websites & blogs discussed the potential impact of the oil spill on the Gulf Coast fisheries. Images of one particular species of fish kept cropping up: redfish. I started seeing redfish everywhere: magazines, videos, blogs.

As cold weather started setting in at home, and our fishing seasons closed down, the whole redfish thing hit a critical point. I woke up one frigid morning, and, not wanting to disturb my girlfriend, I grabbed a fishing magazine off the floor. I flipped it open to see a massive redfish staring back at me. Uh-huh…

Later that day I sat down to do some work. Procrastination got the better of me: ”I wonder how much a flight to New Orleans costs?”

Thirty minutes later, with a flight, hotel & guide booked, I started to realize I might have a problem.

I wrote a dispatch in praise of smallmouth bass, and yes, they’re my favourite home water fish. But redfish…all I have to say is wow.

The first one I hooked, I didn’t know what to do; my reel was screaming, the line burnt my fingers, the rod was bent in two…and I definitely didn’t know how to do a hero-shot.

I'm smiling on the inside. Honestly.

Despite the fact the photo makes me appear to have failed a recent calculus exam and am about to fall over, I was ecstatic about my first redfish. I hooked up with eight more and landed four of them…let’s say there’s a bit of a learning curve going from small stream trout on the 3wt to reds in the salt from the bow of a flats skiff, and leave it at that, shall we?

Regardless of my lack of being photogenic, I had an epic day (by my standards).

Not to be outdone by some Canadian noob, my guide one-cast the biggest of the day with the boat idling and proceeded to also school me in hero-shot poses.

Captain John shows me how it's done

Because the IFTD was held in NOLA this past year, lots of redfish content has been floating around again.

And I keep checking my frequent flyer account balances…again…

Sarcasm on the interhorn typically goes over like a lead balloon unless you specify it as #sarcasm